Characteristics of woods for pot calls

[Meleagris gallopavo]

Are there certain woods that work best with certain pot call surfaces?  I see a little bit of everything out there.  Lots of zebrawood used for pots.  How much of a difference does the wood make for sound? 


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[HookedonHooks]

Harder/denser woods make better glass and aluminum calls, softer woods work best in a slate pot.

This isn't Bible, but is more a generalization.

I have some Poplar (a soft wood) glass calls from Brad Robert's that are as good as any, and some slate calls in various Rosewood (hard wood) pots from several makers that are top notch too.

[Swamp]

Are there certain woods that work best with certain pot call surfaces?  I see a little bit of everything out there.  Lots of zebrawood used for pots.  How much of a difference does the wood make for sound? 


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Biggest thing ive noticed is that with softer woods your dimensions have to be good. With harder woods you can get by with looser dimensions and still get a good sounding call. Now that being said 2 blanks from the same board with same dimensions can have two totally different sounds.

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[Meleagris gallopavo]

Are there certain woods that work best with certain pot call surfaces?  I see a little bit of everything out there.  Lots of zebrawood used for pots.  How much of a difference does the wood make for sound? 


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Biggest thing ive noticed is that with softer woods your dimensions have to be good. With harder woods you can get by with looser dimensions and still get a good sounding call. Now that being said 2 blanks from the same board with same dimensions can have two totally different sounds.

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Yep.  Same with strikers out of the same piece of wood.


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[Swamp]

Are there certain woods that work best with certain pot call surfaces?  I see a little bit of everything out there.  Lots of zebrawood used for pots.  How much of a difference does the wood make for sound? 


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Biggest thing ive noticed is that with softer woods your dimensions have to be good. With harder woods you can get by with looser dimensions and still get a good sounding call. Now that being said 2 blanks from the same board with same dimensions can have two totally different sounds.

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Yep.  Same with strikers out of the same piece of wood.


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I'm working on a paduk slate call right now and it's really messing with me. I can't seem to get any rasp out of it I just took the surfaces out and made some changes so we will see once it gets glued up.

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[Greg Massey]

Like others have said in general the harder the wood the higher the pitch, tone and sound this will vary with didn't type call surfaces. Softer woods will usually carry less tone, but all the dimensions of the internals of the call and builder play a major part as well. You will find a lot of different answers to this question. IMO

[outdoors]

Softer wood absorbs  the metric in the inside 
Except , to my ears the only playing service is  copper  , I think copper is very different
,

[Meleagris gallopavo]

Like others have said in general the harder the wood the higher the pitch, tone and sound this will vary with didn't type call surfaces. Softer woods will usually carry less tone, but all the dimensions of the internals of the call and builder play a major part as well. You will find a lot of different answers to this question. IMO

Yeah.  You answered my question.  I'm just wanting a general answer.


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[mmclain]

Like others have said in general the harder the wood the higher the pitch, tone and sound this will vary with didn't type call surfaces. Softer woods will usually carry less tone, but all the dimensions of the internals of the call and builder play a major part as well. You will find a lot of different answers to this question. IMO

Yeah.  You answered my question.  I'm just wanting a general answer.
I don't care for dense woods unless you just want that loud call. . I prefer a grainy lighter density wood like mulberry,  sassafras, some exotics like padauk and zebrawood  some  spalted woods,  cherry and walnuts of all variety's are great.  if the pot is too heavy to me it ruins the overall playability unless you just want a loud horsepower call which I just don't like 90% if the time.   I have almost quit buying exotics for pot calls.  Too many good less costly American woods.   


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[Zobo]

McClain, thats a really good, specific and interesting answer to this question. I tend to like the pots I have with the lighter,  less dense woods too but I never really realized why; you brought up some interesting points.

[mmclain]

 

McClain, thats a really good, specific and interesting answer to this question. I tend to like the pots I have with the lighter,  less dense woods too but I never really realized why; you brought up some interesting points.

the thought that harder and denser wood is better is a path taken and hopefully learned from.  Eventually you get to the point on density that regular wood strikers won't play on them very well softly.   If you got to reach for laminate strikers with excess pressure to get a decent sound it not really a very good call. Turns out that too much density left in the pot and it's not a very playable call.  Softer adhesives help counteract density to a point.  You can take as much wood out of the pot as possible but then you start running into thin pot wall  problems and sound goes dead or cups/warps.   

[joeturkey]

Here are two calls in my collection can't really tell what woods where used the 3rd ADAMS call from 1977 looks like soft wood maybe maple the stowe call from 1976 looks like hard wood but as you can see no sound chamber other than you're hand

[callmakerman]

Here are two calls in my collection can't really tell what woods where used the 3rd ADAMS call from 1977 looks like soft wood maybe maple the stowe call from 1976 looks like hard wood but as you can see no sound chamber other than you're hand

Two fine looking calls. Never seen one like that from DD. Learn something new every day.